Tag holder



P. wAfiiviATl-l TAG HOLDER Oct. 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1-, 1953 Perry Vl/grmof/i IINVENTOR,

- ATTORNEY-L P. WARMATH Oct. 8, 1957 TAG HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1, 1953 Per/7 Warmafh INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent TAG HOLDER Perry Warmath, Houston, Tex.

Application April 1, 1953, Serial No. 346,144

2 Claims. (Cl. 22134) This invention relates to atag holder and is of particular utility as a holder and dispenser of price tags such as are used on display shelves of stores to indicate to prospective purchasers the sale price of articles on the shelves proximate the respective price tags.

It is customary in many stores, particularly grocery stores, to provide price tags in proximity to each article group to indicate the unit price of the article. Such price tags comprise small rectangular pieces of suitable material on which appear proper numerals to indicate unit price. They are used both singly and in groups it being customary to use tags in side-by-side relation to indicate prices in excess of ten cents and it is also customary to use added indicia such as arrows to point to the goods priced, punctuation marks, fractions, the unit of goods priced, Special and the like.

Inasmuch as prices change and the location of goods on the shelves change, it is necessary to frequently change price tags and for this purpose compartmented open top boxes have been used for carrying price tags to the shelves for use thereon, it being intended that like indicia be collected in the respective compartments in a heterogeneous fashion. With such an arrangement the tags lie in various positions in their compartments, some upside down. In the event they are spilled from the box, as frequently occurs the tags become so. jumbled that much time is wasted in selecting proper tags and/or rearranging the tags in their respective compartments.

In order to avoid the abovementioned difficulties, and many others, the present invention comprehends and it is the primary object of the invention to provide atag receiving and dispensing holder or cabinet in which tags are held in a manner to be readily accessible at all times.

Another object is to provide a tag holder in which the tags cannot become mixed and from which the tags cannot be spilled.

Still another object is to provide a holder of the class described in which the tags are grouped and a tag of each group is constantly held in a position to be easily withdrawn and a succeeding tag is moved into position for like withdrawal.

A further object is to provide a holder into which the tags may be easily inserted for subsequent withdrawal.

In a more restricted sense the invention comprehends a holder comprising a box or housing having selectively spaced dividers forming compartments for groups of tags, said dividers having overhanging heads to form stops or ledges for the tags and holding the uppermost tag of each group in readily accessible position.

Another object is to provide a compartment holder of which each compartment has a follower to constantly urge the quantity of tags therein toward a predetermined position whence the tags may be withdrawn as desired.

The foregoing objects and advantages, together with other objects and advantages of the invention, will be more fully apparent from the following description, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which;

2,808,962 Patented Oct. 8, 1957 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a holder embodying the invention, a portion being cut away to more clearly illustrate structural details:

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the box or housing of the holder, certain of the dividers being shown in place, and partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4- is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the composite spring and follower comprising an element of the holder;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view similar to that shown in Fig. 3 but illustrates the manner of placing the composite spring and follower in operative position within the holder;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing the relative positions of parts within a compartment when a quantity of tags are held therein, one of such tags being shown in the process of removal for use.

The disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises a housing 1 having side walls 2 and 3 and ends 4. This housing may be made from any suitable material but is preferably transparent, and desirably a plastic, so that one can immediately determine by inspection how many tags are in the respective compartments. Also, transparency enables placement of information on the interior of the box, such as the name of the owner, advertising matter and the like, such information thus being visible from the exterior.

Throughout the length of the housing 1 and at spaced intervals are secured transverse partitions 5 to form compartments 6 to receive tags 7 bearing numerals or such other indicia as may be deemed desirable. A type of information such as would be appropriate in grocery stores is clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Partitions 5 extend from wall to wall of the housing 1 and are preferably held in preselected spaced relation in grooves 8 which extend vertically on the interior of the housing. The ridges 9 between which the grooves are located terminate at their upper ends a short distance below the upper edge of the wall 3 to provide space for enlarged heads 10 on the partitions 5. There are thus provided downwardly facing ledges 11 on the partitions to serve a purpose to be presently explained. The upper surfaces of the heads 10 are preferably arcuate in their outermost contour to give a pleasing appearance and to present an upper surface of the holder relatively free from sharp corners.

Each partition 5 has a transverse slot 15 extending a portion of the width of the partition to receive a baffle 14 which preferably extends the full length of the housing 1 and which serves as a stop to prevent overloading of any of the respective compartments and also to prevent undesirable tilting of the followers within the compartments, as will now be described.

The composite spring and follower is shown generally at 13, Fig. 5. Each comprises a strip of spring material 16 which, as shown, is normally flat. The follower 17 comprises a strip of relatively stiff material, sheet aluminum being satisfactory, reversely bent at 18 upon itself so that it overlies and underlies the end of the spring 16 having a small hole 19 therein. The material of the follower is displaced into the hole 19 (see Fig. 6) thereby securing the follower to the spring, the dimples 20 and 21 indicating the operation whereby the spring and follower are integrated. It is to be understood that the plan dimensions of the follower 17 are substantially the same as the cross sectional dimensions of the compartment into which the follower is to slidingly fit.

As is best seen in Figs. 7 and 8 the wall 2 of the housing 1 terminates slightly below the plane of the ledges 1.1 on

3 the heads of the partitions 5 thereby forming a slit 22 to serve the dual function of providing an entrance for the insertion of the composite spring and follower 13 and also a slot for withdrawal of tags from the compartment.

As shown in Fig. 7 a springand follower is installed by first inserting the free end of the spring 16 through slot 22. The end of the spring first engages the corner formed by the wall 3 and the bottom of the housing 1, Force applied to the follower during continued inserting movement causes the spring to assume a generally S-shaped configuration, the lower loop 23 underlying the baffle 14 while the-upper portion of the spring forms the oppositely directed loop 24 which lies opposite the bafiie. The spring 16 attains its .final configuration as the follower 17 enters the compartment and forms a bottom for the compartment.

Attention is directed to the fact that the upper inner edge of the wall 2 is bevelled and hence the slit 22 isso formed that the follower .17 must bejnclined for insertion as shown in Fig. 7. Hence the follower cannot be inadvertently removed from its compartment but must be inclined for withdrawal. It also seems apparent that the resiliency of the spring 16 is effective in urging the follower i7 upwardly and normally holds the follower in engagement with the ledges 11 within the compartment in which the follower is used. Hence any tags 7 within the compartment are held in fixed superposed relation between the follower and the ledges 11 thereabove.

The operation and utility of the holder are believed apparent from the foregoing description. By way of supplementation and further explanation of the operation or use of the holder, it will be assumed that the composite spring and associated follower 13 are assembled as explained. Tags to be placed in the compartment, either singly or in a stacked group, are placed above the follower. Fressure is then applied to the tag or tags whereby the tags and follower are urged downwardly. The tags will flex slightly but insertion is primarily effected from a slight canting or tilting of the follower and tags whereby they move downwardly to a position below the ledges 11. As pressure is released the spring urges the follower and tags upwardly until the edges of the tags engage ledges 11 at the upper end of the compartment. The tags are thus held in superposed relation and cannot be unintentionally dislodged even if the holder be inverted or inadvertently moved to any position other than horizontal. For this reason it'is possible to suspend the holder by means of a chain 25 and a fastener such as the belt hook 26 so that the holder may be carried or suspended in a convenient place whereby the tags are constantly accessible.

Tags are removed by placing a finger or thumb upon the uppermost tag and applying pressure in the direction of the slit 22. The tag is thus caused to slideand exit by way of the slit and into the hand of the user.

It is to be further emphasized that the baffle 14 prevents overloading of the compartments and also prevents excessive tilting of the follower that would permit tags to move downwardly to a position below the follower.

Broadly the invention comprehends a new and improved tag holder which holds tags, such as price tags in an orderly manner and readily accessible to the user of the holder.

The invention claimed is:

1. A tag holder of the class described comprising, a housing, spaced partitions extending transversely of the housing and forming compartments therein, said partitions having heads thereon forming inwardly facing ledges, the side wall of the housing at one end of said compartments terminating proximate but slightly below the plane of the ledges thereby forming a slit at the upper edge of each compartment, the inner edge of said side wall being beveled, a composite spring and follower in each of said compartments, said spring comprising a normally flat strip of spring material deformed within its compartment and presenting an upper end resiliently urged toward said ledges, and said follower comprising a strip of stiff material of a size to inclinably enter said slit and thereafter move slidably within the compartment, the upper end of said spring being attached to the follower intermediate its ends to lie substantially in the plane of the lower face of the follower.

2. In a tag holder having a compartment with inwardly extendingand downwardly facing ledges at its upper end and a side wall terminating proximate but slightly below the plane of said ledges thereby forming a slit at the upper edge of the compartment the improvement comprising, a composite spring and follower in said compartment, said spring comprising a normally fiat spring strip, and said follower being of a size to move slidably within the compartment and being attached intermediate its ends to one end of the spring, so that said spring and follower normally lie in a common plane and are inclinably insertible through said slit whereby the spring is deformed within the compartment and resiliently urges the follower toward said ledges to resiliently hold superposed tags in engagement with the ledges and with the uppermost tag in alignment with the slit.

References ited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 221,913 Dorr Nov. 25, 1879 383,036 Breese May 15, 1888 436,052 Deming Sept. 9, 1890 642,703 Mathis Feb. 6, 1900 739,190 Kreidler Sept. 15, 1903 877,253 Stump Jan 21, 1908 914,208 .Waag Mar. 2, 1909 991,130 Broemmelsick May 2, 1911 1,652,685 Schick Dec. 13, 1927 1,677,166 Baur July 17, 1928 1,937,024 Kurth Nov. 28, 1933 2,069,264 Morris Feb. 2, 1937 2,325,039 Chesler July 27, 1943 2,586,197 Aubertin Feb. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 145,223 Austria Apr. 10, 1936 264,762 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1950 

